Eldest
by Wickedly-Wonderful
Summary: Same story, new summery. The sequel to Eragon. Eragon has left for Ellesmera to train with the elves, but tradgedy and mystery hits them on the road. And what happens to Roran once he's held captive by King Galbatorix? COMPLETE! expect a sequel
1. And So It Begins

Right now, this is taking place in Therinsford right after the war with the Urgals. Feel free to comment!

X

Roran awoke to another day of work at the mill. Groggy, he pulled himself out of bed, changed into his work clothes, and left his house and headed for the mill. While walking to the mill Roran began to think about his father Garrow and began to grieve on his death, and the disappearance of Eragon.

He was only minutes from the mill when a stabbing pain suddenly invaded his mind. He

immediately dropped to the ground, cringing in pain. A barrier in his brain immediately went up, attempting to push out the intruders. Eventually the silent battle was over, and Roran collapsed on the ground, exhausted. He closed his eyes and then opened them again. But when he opened them, two figures were standing over him. Two figures in black, hooded, cloaks. The Ra'zac. Roran suddenly felt faint and lost consciousness.

Roran's consciousness slowly drifted back, accompanied by a throbbing pain in his forehead. It took him a few seconds to fully take in his surroundings, considering that his thinking was slow and he was drowsy. The walls making up his cell were all stone, except for the heavy metal bars, which were firmly locked. Roran attempted to get up off his bed, but he was too tired, and fell back down on top of it. For a few hours he continued to sit there, his mind sharpening, and his energy slowly growing, and he began to take in more detail. He was alone. No other cells surrounded him, and there were no guards in the hallway. _What a strange prison. No guards and only one prisoner..._

As he continued to take in his surroundings, a guard entered the hall, and approached Roran's cell. He slipped in some food, and then left without a word. Roran hungrily looked at the food, and quickly ate the hard loaf of bread. After finishing the bread, Roran felt suddenly drowsy again, and drifted back to sleep.

"Waaakee upp" sneered an unfamiliar voice. Roran slowly opened his eyes and saw the Ra'zac standing above him. Terror immediately struck him.

"Wha-what do you want?" stuttered Roran.

"Interrogation," replied one of the Ra'zac with an evil glare. The two Ra'zac roughly grasped Roran's arms with their clawed hands and dragged him out of his cell.

X

Eragon pulled himself out of bed. It had now been four days since the war. The Varden were just now clearing out the last of the bodies. He changed into clean clothes and wandered over to the mirror standing in his room. He slowly pulled up his shirt and examined the scar on his back. Running his fingers down it, a small pain tingled his fingers. Concerned, he contacted Saphira.

_Morning..._

Hello little one.

_The pain's getting worse...what should I do?_

A concerned tone struck her. Maybe you should talk to Murtagh about this...

_No, I don't think so. His scar probably doesn't give him pain like mine __does..._

Well, maybe one of the elves in Ellesmera can help you with it...

_Yea, you're probably right._ He then cut the connection, pulled down his shirt and headed out of his room in the infirmary.

On his way to the cafeteria for breakfast, he saw Arya walking down the hall, and then she came up to him.

"Eragon," she said, "We have to leave for Ellesmera sooner."

"How much sooner?"

"Tomorrow," she said, brushing her hair away, "You need to go to the next stage of training as soon as possible. We received a message from queen of the elves and they caught a spy from the Empire wandering around Du Weldenvarden. The war will be starting soon."

X

Roran was dragged up hundreds of thousands of stairs. From the bottom of the dungeons to one of the tallest towers in what turned out to be a castle. Finally they reached a tower, where the Ra'zac sat Roran down on a chair, where they strapped him in.

"Why am I here?" asked Roran panicky.

"Beee quiett"hissed one of the Ra'zac. Roran sat still and did as he told, and then after a few minutes the door cracked open and a man walked inside. He was strong, tall, and obviously powerful. He wore a long robe that fell down to his ankles and a crown sat proudly on his head. It was King Galbatorix.

XXXXXX

Bum Bum bum! haha, I know this was a pretty short chapter but oh well, hope you guys liked it! Please comment!


	2. Leaving Farthen Dur

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep reading and review please!**

"What do you want?" Roran asked, panicked. Imprisonment by the king could only mean two things. Death or torture.  
"Just to talk to you," Galbatorix said simply. "I hear that you are Eragon's cousin, and that is of great intrest to me. Do you happen to know where Eragon is?"  
Roran shrank back into his seat with fear, "I-I'm not sure," he stuttered. "Last time I saw him he was in Carvahall, but I got a message that he left almost a year ago."  
"Yes, I know that, but do you know where he went?" Galbatorix said in smooth, seducting voice. Roran nervously shook his head no. A sudden rage overtook Galbatorix's voice. "Send him back to his cell," he ordered his troops. Two of the guards grabed Roran from his chair, one on each arm. "Perhaps later we can find a way to get him to tell us what we want," he said with an evil grin.  
_Torture! They're going to torture me! _Roran thought panickly. "I don't know anything!" Roran screamed, "I swear!"  
"We'll just see about that..."  
The guards dragged Roran back through the castle and down into his cell. The guards threw him into his cell, and thrust the door closed behind them.  
"We'll be back for you tommorow," one of the guards said, "to see what you really know."  
"I don't know anything! I have nothing to tell you!" he screamed into the hallway as the two guards walked away, leaving him alone in the empty dungeon.

The war will be starting soon. The words echoed hauntingly in Eragon's mind, and each time it did, a wave of uncertainty struck him. There was no way he was ready for this, to take on the King. But each time self-doubt overtook him, Saphira would reassure, and bluntly tell him to get ahold of himself. He awoke the next day early in the morning by Orik.  
"Ajihad wants you to leave soon, within the hour." Eragon agknoledged this, still not fully awake. Saphira also agknoledged this with an echoing yawn. Orik quickly exited the cave and made his way down the endless staircase. Soon after, Eragon mounted Saphira's back and then took of from the dragonhold and headed for Farthen Dur. After a few minutes, they roughly landed on the ground and were soon greeted by Ajihad and Arya. Arya stood tall and proud, bow on her back and sword shealthed on her waist. Ajihad held a few bags, undoubtably holding food and supplies. Then something coming up from the tunnel caught Eragon's eye. It was Murtagh, mounted on Tornac, and guiding Snowfire and another unfamilier horse behind him. Eragon gave Ajihad a questioning look, but paid no attention to it.  
"I have decided that Murtagh may accompany you on the trip," Ajihad announced. "One of the elves might be able to reveal his mind, and he will protect you on the crossing to Ellesmera. Ayra will make sure that he remains trustworthy in the meantime." As Ajihad spoke, Murtagh arrived by Eragon's side.

"I am trusting you," Ajihad said, directing his words toward Murtagh, "not to take advantage of this. If you prove untrustworthy on the crossing, we will be forced into execution." A stone glare accompained his words.  
"Don't worry," Murtagh replied, a teasing tone in his voice, "I'll be good." Ajihad scowled, and began loading supplies on Saphira's back. Once all was set, Murtagh mounted Tornac, Eragon mounted Snowfire, and Arya mounted the remaining horse.  
"I assure you, this horse is very good, and very fast," Ajihad said to Arya.  
"I'll take care of her," assured Arya.  
"Very well," said Ajihad, "I wish you good luck on your jouney, and please contact me once you make it to Ellesmera." Arya nodded in agreement, and headed out of Farthen Dur. Eragon and Murtagh followed suit. What was left of the Varden and the dwarves after the war stood by the exiting gate, applauding as they had when Eragon first arrived in Tronjheim, although the dwarves looked much happier as he departed then when he had arrived. With a final wave to the crowd, Eragon, Murtagh, and Arya went through the gate, arrived on the other side of the mountain, and watched it slowly close behind them.  
Arya silently led the way out of Farthen Dur, and along the river Az Ragni. Instead of going across the Hadarc Desert to Du Weldenvarden they would follow Az Ragni south and leave it before it curved east, and then would head into Du Weldenvarden., where a thin layer of fog had gathered. Eragon looked over at Murtagh, who faced forward, expression set to a stone glare. Breaking the silence, Eragon spoke.  
"Why do you think Ajihad let you out?" questioned Eragon.  
"You already know," Murtagh replied, "He wants the elves to break into my mind, see if I'm trustworthy." After a few seconds of silence, Eragon spoke up again.  
"Are you going to let them?"  
"Invade my mind? My santuary? I don't think so."  
"Why can't you just do it? Once proven trustworthy they'll let you go, and you can leave the Varden!" exclaimed Eragon.  
"They will never let me leave!" said Murtagh, now shouting, "They will never trust me! They will always see me as a threat..." With that, he faced forward, ending the convorsation. Eragon was about to start up the argument again, when Arya shake her head no, anticipating his thoughts. So instead, the three of them sat, riding in silence. After several hours passed, only stoping for a quick lunch, they had covered a significant amount of land. Before dusk set, Arya announced the ending of their first day, and they set up camp, Murtagh setting up branches for a fire, Arya lighting it, Saphira hunting for dinner, and Eragon lying out the bedding. The hastily ate a quick dinner of cooked deer and some soup made from the supplies the Varden gave to them.

"We should probably keep watch, incase Urgals or Ra'zac decide to attack in our sleep," stated Arya after they had all finished eating dinner, and a quick sparring match between Arya and Eragon, Eragon being quickly deafeated while Arya gave nearly no effort. So, Eragon volunteered to take the first watch with Saphira. While Arya and Murtagh fell asleep, Eragon stroaked Saphira's neck, looking out down the river, toward Du Weldenvarden.

_I'll bet it's beautiful, _said Saphira.

_Yea, _replied Eragon, _but I doubt I'll be able to enjoy any of it. The moment I get there I will be in constant training. And then, I'll have to fight..._

_But after that, what will we do? If we defeat Galbatorix, we will be free to do what we want._

_I don't know, _said Eragon, pondering their options, _we could either join the Varden, whom will probably rule if the Varden wins the war, or we could explore the world, independent._

_I like the thought of exploring._ said Saphira, purring, _we could see the rest of the Beor Mountains, and go back to the desert, and maybe get to see what's really in Du Weldenvarden. _

_Yea, that'd be-_ Eragon's train of thought was lost as a sudden wave of exhaust overcame him, and was taken unconcious, and seconds later, Saphira did the same.

Roran sat in his cell, blankly staring at the stone wall infront of him. It had been three days sense his visit with the king, and nobody had been in the dungeon sense. He hadn't gotten any food, or any water for two days, and his abilities had been limited to, well, staring blankly at stone walls. His mind craved food, thirsted for water, and that's all he could think about. He had almost forgot about the king's threat of torture, but after the second day was half way over, he assumed this would be it: to starve to death, or die of dehydration. Just as all his hope was disinegrating, he heard the thumps of footsteps above him, and then making their way down the stairs, and they approached Roran's cell door. He forced himself to turn towards the door where he saw a guard standing there, holding a large plate of steaming food. Roran gazed at it hungerly, praying that Galbatorix would allow him to eat it, when the guard slid it under the door and left.

Roran leaped towards the food, shoveling it in, until not a crumb was left on the plate. He leaned happily against his bed, enjoying the warms sensation the food brought to his stomach. He stared at the ceiling for a couple hours, until two guards approached his cell again, and silently motioned Roran to come with them. They chained his hands together, and headed out of the dungeons. Yet again, he climbed endless stairs, and with each step his anxiety and dread grew. The day had come, and he could barely imagine the terror he was about to go through. Eventually they reached a room, somewhere towards the top of the castle. For the most part, it was just a room. Wooden floors, a large wooden door, and a few small windows overlooking Uru'baen, but in the middle of the room was a tall pole, and a set of chains at the top. Roran gulped, knowing that only pain could come from it.

As suspected, the guards hoised Roran up onto the pole, and secured his hands in the chains, still not saying a word, but evil smirks had crept up onto their faces in the process. Once he was firmly hung, the guards left the room, leaving Roran hanging painfully from the pole. Minutes later, King Galbatorix walked it, wordlessly taking a seat in a chair placed in one of the corners, and with him came one of the guards, but returned with a whip. Terror lept into Roran's eyes.

"If only you had decided to share what you knew..." said Galboatorix with crude humor. The guard lifted the whip above his head, and mercislly whiped Roran. Screams erupted from Roran's mouth, blood shedding down his body, until he passed out from the pain.

**Ooh, what's gonna happen? Well, sorry it took so long for an update, but at least this ones a lot longer then my last chapter...well I hope you guys like it! Please review!**


	3. Costly Mistakes

**Hey! thanks for all the reviews! And i know that i didn't really explain the mind sheild thing, but basically i figured that Murtagh learned to block people out, and when Eragon was getting his mind checked, his mind shields just went up automatically, so I just kinda combinded the two, and obviously Roran's mind shields weren't that strong because he was captured...But ne ways, thats about it! R&R!**

Eragon slowly craked open his eyes. Above him a gleaming sun blinded him. He groaned and turned over. His whole body was in agony. After a few minutes, he reopened his eyes, and sat up slowly. He found himself at the same spot that they had set up camp the night before. He slowly lifted his shirt, where he found a large gash across his stomach. He muttered "Waise heill" and watched his skin pull itself back together, leaving a small mark. Satisfied, Eragon stood up and looked around and noticed that Saphira was not there, and contacted her.

_Where are you?_

_Hunting,_ she replied sounding grateful that Eragon had finally contacted her, _I woke up a couple hours ago; Arya asked me if I would get some meat for when you wake up._

_What happend?_

_I don't know, I too passed out. You'll have to ask Arya. _Eragon said good-bye, and then headed toward Arya.

"Good morning," said Arya. "Are you feeling ok?"

"Headache, but that's about it," he replied, "I had a cut on my stomach when I woke up, but I already healed it."

"Sorry, I was going to heal it myself, but I was working on Murtagh. But you shouldn't have been wasting your energy on that..."

"It's fine, but what happend to Murtagh? Is he ok?"

"He's not good," said Arya solemnly. "He has a cut on his stomach too, but, it's like it's cursed or something. I can't heal it." With out a word, Eragon walked away and headed toward Murtagh. He pulled away the blanket and lifted his shirt. Under it was a deep cut, oozing something black. Eragon scanned it carefully, and attempted to touch it, when a burning sensation ran up his hand. He cried out in agony, and crumpled to the floor. He felt Saphira try to contact him, but he pushed her away. Arya flew to his side with lightning speed, attempting to help him up. After a few minutes, the pain subsided and he was able to stand up again.

"Are you-" Before Arya could get it out, Saphira soared down into the clearing a buck in her mouth, which she threw to the ground. Growling, she broke into Eragon's mind.

_What is the matter with you!_ She roared. _Again and again! Time after time! You know about dark magic! And about what can happen to you if you interfere with it, but you don't LISTEN! I cannot leave you for one minute without you getting in trouble._ Saphira's face was now inches from his and smoke flaring from her nostrils; Eragon feared she may catch him on fire by accident. _From now on you will consult me before trying anything like this ever again! Understood?_ Eragon fearfully shook his head yes. Apparently satisfied, she pulled her head back and walked over to the fire and sat down, turning her back towards him. He quietly approached her, and touched minds with her.

_I know that you care about me, and that I'm ignorent, and should be more careful. _Saphira snorted in agreement to this. _But I need to help Murtagh...if I hadn't touched him I wouldn't know how bad that cut was...And I can't let another friend meet that terrible fate. _Then Eragon began to silently mourn Brom's death. After a few minutes of silence Saphira finally replied.

_I understand, little one. But if Arya can't heal him with magic, there is nothing we can do..._For severel minutes, Eragon and Saphira just sat there, Eragon stroking her neck. Eventually Eragon tore himself from staring at the Beor Mountains infront of them and walked over toward Arya, who was leaning over Murtagh. She covered him up with the blankets again and was tending to a few minor cuts on his face.

"Are you feeling ok?" she asked again. Eragon nodded yes. "What happend?" she said, eyes still on Murtagh as she tried to force feed him some of the soup she had made.

"When I touched his cut...it started to burn, almost like when I got my gedwey ignasia." Fear struck Arya's expression.

"This must be worse then I thought. I've never had to heal a cut that was cursed by black magic. And I can only think of two things that could cause such a wound..."

"What are they?"

"Well, obviously, a Shade, but the only one known of is now gone."

"What's the other?"

"The Ra'zac."

Inside Eragon exploded. The Ra'zac! For so long they had done nothing but cause his heart to break. First the death of Garrow, and then the death of Brom. Eragon swore to himself that he would not let Murtagh die, not without revenge. Furious, he did not reply at first, just starred at the ground. Eventually he changed the subject and spoke.

"Is there anything you can do to help him?"

"I've tried everything I can think of. I attempted to use magic on him a couple hours ago, but it just exhausted me, and did nothing. I've put some herbs into the soup that may help any other internal injuries, but that's all I can think to do..."

"Well, can we take him anywhere?" said Eragon, frustrated.

"I dont' know where we would go," replied Arya, equelly frustrated. "The closest town is Herdarth, but the Varden suspect that's where the Urgals came from. Ellesmera is too far away, he'd be dead by the time we arrived there, and if I can't help him, there are slim chances that anyone there could."

"Why don't we go to the Varden? It's only a days ride away and they might have potions that could heal him."

"Even if we did go back, they wouldn't help him," said Arya. "He was a prisoner there, and Morzan's son. Although he has not acted untrustworthy, because he would not let him search his mind, they would not accept him. Aside from that, they have nothin there that we don't have. There is not a cure for him there if there's none here."

"So what are we supposed to do?" shouted Eragon. "Just keep traveling and let him die!"

"There is nothing that we can do for him! We have no choice!"

Eragon stormed off and sat down next to the fire. Saphira sat next to him and wordlessly nuzzled him. And for awhile Eragon just sat next to Saphira, enjoying the comfort her warmth as a few silent tears rolled down his cheeks. Eventually Arya cautiously walked toward the fire and sat on the opposite side. Eragon quickly wiped away his tears.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly starring at the fire. "It's just...the Ra'zac have killed so many people that were close to me." This shocked Arya, not hearing the previous stories about Brom and Garrow.

"I didn't know," she replied. "Do-do you mind telling me?" For the next few minutes Eragon told the story of how the Ra'zac had destroyed his house and how the seither oil they had used on Garrow eventually killed him, and how Brom had jumped infront of Eragon when the Ra'zac had thrown the spear, which, too, killed him. He ended with telling Arya about the diamond grave that Saphira had created. Once he was done, he looked up to see a few tears streaming from Arya's face, and noticed that he was doing the same.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice cracking. "I had no idea..." Eragon shrugged it off and starred into the fire. Arya stood up and went over to the buck Saphira had caught earlier, cut it up and began to cook it. As she leaned over the fire, cooking the meat, Eragon realized that he never found out what actually happend last night, apart from the fact that he had gotten cut in the stomach and Murtagh had also been cut.

"Where you concious last night?" asked Eragon. Arya quickly looked up and replied yes. "What happend?"

"Well, when you and Saphira were keeping watch something, probably the Ra'zac, shot you with arrows that caused you both to loose conciousness, although they had to hit Saphira with a couple more arrows to get her finally pass out. And when Saphira fell, she clipped you with one of her spikes, which is what cut you. Then I woke up, as did Murtagh, but I only saw some hooded figures in the dark, and once I unshealthed my sword some sort of black smoke arose from no where. I tried to use magic to get rid of it, but I couldn't, I wasn't fast enough. They must have been able to see through the smoke, because I heard Murtagh scream, and by the time the smoke faded away, he was on the floor unconcious and the hooded figures were gone. Then I pulled the arrows out of you and Saphira and attempted to heal Murtagh. After failing, I began to make him soup, and you woke up." After this story, Eragon lifted his shirt to reveal his stomach and the faint mark where he had healed his cut.

_I'm sorry,_said Saphira softly as she saw his cut.

_It's not your fault,_ said Eragon as he stroked her neck_. You were unconcious, there was nothing you could do about it. I'm lucky, it was a close call._

_Yes, you are very very lucky..._

After a quck meal of meat and bread, Eragon and Saphira laid down for bed and Arya took the first watch, assuring them that she would be alert. Although it was an uneasy sleep, all of them woke up in the morning, arrow free and cutless. They quickly ate, extinguished the fire, and began to pack their things and load the horses.

"What should we do about Murtagh?" asked Eragon. Arya considered this for a second and came to a conclusion.

"We can strap him onto Tornac for now, we'll just have to tighten his straps every so often to make sure he doesn't fall off. So they strapped in Murtagh and took off. This was the first time that Eragon truly took in his surrondings. The hard, cold mountain ground thawed out as they headed father north and became green grass. To the right was the Az Ragni river, which flowed smoothly north, downhill from the Beor Mountains and would eventually empty out into Edda River. To their left was a clump of valleys, where Saphira was flying. As Eragon was appriciating the beauty of the valleys, Murtagh fell of Tornac. Eragon quickly forgot about the valleys, and ran back to Murtagh. Murtagh just layed face up, eyes wide open starring at the sky, but didn't seem to be taking in what was happening around him. Arya soon kneeled next to Eragon, holding her hand on Murtagh's face, checking his temperature. Eragon did the same to find that his forehead was burning hot. At this point Murtagh's mouth opened slightly, and white foam leaked from his mouth. He just layed there for awhile, but then suddently closed his eyes. His fever broke, and was oddly cold. His breathing slowed down, until it stopped.

"NO!" cried Eragon. He barely noticed Saphira land next to him. Tears flowed from his eyes onto Murtagh's dead body. Saphira nuzzled him, comfortingly.

_It's all my fault,_ Eragon said to Saphira._ I wasn't watching, and now he's gone..._

**Yea, I know, it's sad...And I know that I didn't include Roran in this chapter, but i will in the next one! Will update soon!**


	4. Somebody Save Me

Eragon layed over Murtagh's body. And the only thing he could think of was that it was his fault. Saphira had gently tried to tell him that it wasn't, and she was getting fed up that he would not listen to her, and gave up. After Eragon, Arya and Saphira had sat there for a few minutes, Arya finally spoke.

"We should probably bury him, and then keep going," said Arya. Eragon nodded his head in agreement, wiping away his tears. They wandered around until they found a spot to bury Murtagh that satisfied Eragon.

Arya muttered, "Deloi Moi (earth change)," and a grave was dug into the ground, the pile of dirt standing beside them. Eragon and Arya lowered Murtagh's body into the grave, but before they covered it, Eragon placed the Zac'roc in his hands, after all, it was his rightful possesion. He and Arya then covered the grave and created a grave marker that read:

**Murtagh**

**He was of good body and mind**

** A strong swordsman**

** And a loyal friend**

**May he rest in peace**

Eragon slowly stepped away from the grave and let his tears flow ontop of it. Soon later Saphira joined him, her tears falling onto Murtagh's grave as well. As Saphira's tears fell on the grave a single lily grew, wrapping around the grave. With a final tear, it glistend and layed there ceremoniously.

_What did you do?_ asked Eragon.

_It's a flower. A flower that will never die._

_Thank you._ Eragon said quietly, stroaking her neck.

Roran sat limp in his cage. It had been a week sense his first beating, and he had been beaten everyday sense. His body was covered with scars where the whip had lashed him. Blood still oozed out of his wounds from his previous beating. For days now, he had just sat and starred at the wall, in too much pain to actually do anything. The only exception to this was to eat the meager meals that were delivered to him each day.

When Roran heard somebody open the door to the dungeon and walk down the hallway, he slowly averted his eyes to the cell door. He assumed it was time for his daily beating. But to his great surprise, it wasn't the guards who stood infront of his door, but King Galbatorix himself. Roran wondered what he was doing down here. The King only appeared at the beatings, and sometimes not even then.

"I think it's time," said Galbatorix in a sly voice, "that you and I have a little talk." With these words, two guards appeared my Galbatorix's side. "Would you care to have dinner?" Without waiting for an answer, Galbatorix had the guards seize Roran by his arms and follow him. Wordlessly, Galbatorix guided them through the castle until the arrived at a magnificent dining room. A large chandeleir hung from the ceiling with more then a dozen candels lighting it. A enormous wooden table sat in the middle with a blood red table cloth lying on top of it and, even better, mountains of food. Smoked chicken, steaming vegitbles and red wine. Roran stared at them hungerly as he was seated across from the King.

Galbatorix motioned towards the food and said, "Eat, I'm sure you're hungrey." Roran flung himself at the food, piling it onto his plate. He wanted to fill up now; he may not get another decent meal for a very, very long time.

"I have a propisition for you," Galbatorix announced to Roran, as he dug through his food. "I'm sure that you have been thinking death is in your near future. On the contrary, I think that you could be very valuble to the Empire.

"You see, when the Ra'zac attempted to invade you mind, you put up theoretical mind sheilds. Not many ordinary men can do that. It takes practice and determination. And even though your shields were defeated, it proved significant.

"If you could give us any information you might have concerning your cousin, Eragon, we could make you one of the most powerful people in the Empire. With my knoledge and your premature abilities, you could be accepted by a dragon." With saying this Galbatorix revealed two large, shiney stones. One was a deep scarlet red, the other emerald green. As these were revealed, Roran stopped eating and starred. The stones were mysteriously beautiful. After a few moments of starring, Roran questioned him.

"What are those?"

"These," replied the KIng as he repocketed them, "are eggs. Dragon eggs."

_Dragons! _Thought Roran. He hadn't even known they exsisted! He had only heard of them in stories that their town's storyteller Brom had told. He had mysteriously dissapeared on the night Eragon had fled the city. He wondered what had happend to him, but was shook out of his thoughts when Galbatorix began talking again.

"So, you tell me what you know about your cousin, and I can provide you with ultimate power. Join me, Roran, and together we can rule."

Roran took in what Galbatorix was asking him. To rule? He wanted him to become a Rider?

"As I have already told you," Roran spoke after a few minutes, "I know nothing of where my cousin has gone, or what he is doing. And even if I did know, I could not tell you." Hearing this made Galbatorix furious, stood up and began shouting.

"I will figure you what you know weather you like it or not. And if you will not serve me, you will die. Guards! Take him back to his cell, and give him no food until I tell you otherwise." The two guards who had broughten Roran in grabbed him roughly by his arms, clawing at some of his scars, peeling them back open.

"I know nothing!" Roran screamed once again. But the King refused to listen, arrogent in power. So once again, Roran was thrown into his cell, and left alone and hopless. He crumpled on the floor, silently crying, silently praying that somebody would help him.

"Somebody save me."

It had now been three weeks sense the death of Murtagh. Eragon, Saphira, and Arya were now somewhere deep inside Du Weldenvarden. The past weeks had been filled with sparring at night against Arya ( he was now using Arya's sword because he had burried the Zar'oc with Murtagh, and Arya used a stick, which gave him no advantage, and he was defeated everytime), marveling the wonders of Du Weldenvarden, and silently mourning Murtagh. As they traveld Arya and Eragon didn't talk much. Eragon was afraid if he talked, Arya would ask him about his past, something he was not ready to reveal yet. And latlely he had been thinking about it more, and abuot how much he missed Carvahall. His thoughts were interupted as Arya said, "We're getting close, very close."

His thoughts of homesickness were soon swept away as she said this. They were almost to Ellesmera! City of Elves.

_I can't believe we're almost there!_ Eragon told Saphira

_I know! It's so exciting..._replied Saphira.

_We'll finally be able to train with the elves, and finally find out who The Mourning Sage is._ For awhile Eragon had forgotten about The Mourning Sage, with the shock of Murtagh's death. But as he got closer to Ellesmera, his requests became clearer. He was to go to the City of the Elves and find him. He would give him information, vital information. Eragon couldn't wait. After a few more hours of travel, Arya led them behind a waterfall. As Eragon followed her, he saw the most spectacular thing ever, it took his breath away. Behind the waterfall hid the great city of Ellesmera. A large golden gate stood infront of them taller then Eragon and Saphira combined (which was saying something, as Saphira had grew an additional 5 inches sense they left Farthen Dur). Then, branching off from the gate, was a golden wall that surronded the city and had a mysterious glow to it.

"The wall has been enchanted to protect the city. The only way in or out the city is through the gate," explained Arya. Amazed, Eragon just stared until they were at the gates. At the guards post was a tall, slender, male elf. As they approached, he looked down suspiciously at them.

"Identify yourself," he shouted down at Arya.

"I am Arya," she replied. " And he is Rider Eragon. He has come here to train." The elf's eyes widend, and he didn't question them, but opened the gate quickly, exspecially after Saphira flew up next to them. The gate rolled up to reveal the most beutiful city Eragon had ever seen.

"Welcome to Ellesmera."

**I hope you guys liked that! And I know I sorta stole the whole diamond tomb idea for Murtagh's burial, but i tried to give it a twist. Oh, and I know that the grave marking isn't the best, but I tried. And I also tried to work out the whole "how does Roran have mind sheilds" thing...Review Please!**


	5. Come to me Eragon

Eragon starred, eyes wide open. He had never seen a city as amazing as Ellesmera. Even Terim, Dras Leona, or Tronjeheim matched it's vast beauty. All the houses, shops and buildings stood tall and sturdy. Little elven children ran up and down the streets, following their mothers, or kicking a ball around with their friends. Older elves, both men and women, walked the streets cautiously, armed with either swords or bow and arrows. But the most spectacular site sat in the middle of the city. It gleamed with gold magnificence and was surronded by magical looking gardens and was guarded by soilders plataed with golden armor. It was the palace, home of Queen Islanzadi.

As the citizens of Ellesmera saw Eragon and Saphira enter the city all was silent and still. The elves starred at them. Some looked hopeful, some angry, and some were impossible to read.

_What should I do?_ asked Eragon.

_Just walk, head for the palace._

Eragon was about to step forward when he saw Arya shake her head no and motion for him to stay put. So he did, and after a few seconds a beautiful elven lady approached them from the center of the city. She was tall, thin, and pale as all elves were, but was exceptionally beautiful. She had long wavy blonde hair that dropped down to her mid-torso. She had electric green eyes full of wisdom and hope and was dressed in elegant, royal blue robes. As she walked down the street the elves kneeled in respect. She finally made her way to the gates and stood infront of Eragon.

"Rider Eragon, you arrival has been highly anticipated," said Queen Islanzadi. "Follow me to the palace. You may rest and relax before we start your training." After saying this, she turned around and headed back up toward the palace. Hesitating at first, Eragon followed, Saphira right by his side. He tried not to concentrate on the elves that were starring at him. After what seemed to be endless hours of walking, Eragon found himself standing infront of the amazing palace. He then followed the Queen inside and the soilders closed the doors behind them, blocking out the rest of the city, but allowed Arya to follow them inside.

The inside of the palace matched the magnificents of the outside. He walked on marble floors so smooth and glassy as if they were brand new. Large pillars stood on both sides of him reaching up to the very top of the palace, four floors up.

Eragon followed Islanzadi in through a pair of oak doors that opend up to a large room with bookcases lining the walls. In the middle was an oak table, a large velvet lined chair on one side, and a few smaller ones on the other. Islanzadi sat on the large throne and indicated that Eragon and Arya were to sit in the chairs parallel. Saphira sat next to Eragon's chair.

"Welcome to Jialcarva Nelies, also known as Palace of Peace. Unfortunatly, it hasn't been living up to it's name lately..." The Queen seemed to daydream for a second, but quickly snapped back to reality. "Rider Eragon, as I have already said, your arrival has been greatly anticipated. Although you should have been her days ago."

"I'm sorry for the inconvience," spoke up Arya, "but on our first night out we were attacked in our sleep and were forced to rest for a day or two, and shortly after our other accomplice died, and we gave a proper burial."

"Yes, I was told that there was supposed to be three of you. I am sorry for the loss." Although she did not look very upset. Apparetnly she knew that the other person had been Murtagh, and his name was not welcome in Ellesmera.

"Well Arya, last time I saw you, you were departing for the journey to Farthen Dur. Apparently you got a little side tracked. I'm sure you will explain it all later. But for now I would like a word with Eragon alone. One of the soilders outside will show you to your room and help you get your horses settled in the stables. Then you may rest until dinner, I'm sure it's been a long and tiering journey."

Arya stood up and exited through the doors. Sitting alone in his seat, Eragon felt small.

"Eragon," said Islanzadi, "usually in the point of a Rider's life, they would be starting the next step in their training. Learning to control their magic and become more powerful with it. They would also learn to be a great swordsmen. But under these conditions we may only be able to get through half of your training. Because of the spies found in Du Weldenvarden, war is expected soon. And when that time comes, we will need you more then ever.

"Now, will you tell me what happend the night you were attacked?" she said.

So Eragon started telling the story from what he knew. How they, what they assumed to be the Ra'zac, attcked in the night. And ended with Murtagh's death. After he told his story Islanzadi sat in her chair pondering for a minute. Finally she spoke.

"If it's true that the Ra'zac are out again working for the Empire and killed Murtagh, like you thought, then we are in much deeper trouble then I anticipated." Eragon silently nodded. "Well, for now, the best thing we can do is begin the rest of your training. And when the war begins, hope you are ready.

"I'm sure you would like to rest a little before training. At the top of the tower is a roomy chamber that your dragon may like, and there are numerous bedrooms throughout the palace, you may choose from."

"Her name is Saphira," replied Eragon.

"Pardon?"

"My dragon, her name is Saphira."

"Oh," she replied. "It is an honor." Saphira nodded in acknowledgment.

"Thank you for allowing us to stay here," said Eragon as he headed for the door.

"It is a pleasure," replied Islanzadi. Eragon opened the doors and left the room, followed by Saphira.

"Would you like to go to your room now?" said one of the soilders, eyeing Saphira.

"Yes, but could you show us to Saphira's chamber first?" With a quick nod, the soilder led the pair outside.

"The entrance is outside. She should be able to fly up to the tower. Is this ok?" Eragon nodded and watched Saphira fly off to the chamber. The soilder then led Eragon back inside and up to the second floor. "You may choose any room you like on this floor or the one above it."

"Thank you," replied Eragon, and the soilder left. Eragon wandered up to the third floor so he could be closer to Saphira and settled for a medium sized bedroom toward the end of the hall. It was elegantly decorated. A large sleigh style bed was placed inside the room with a matching cabinet. Eragon layed his travel-worn pack ontop of the bed and laid down. The soft feather bed felt incredebly comfterble after weeks of sleeping on hard ground. His eyes began to shut when somebody opend the door, making him sit straght back up. Standing in his doorway was Arya.

"Hello," said Arya. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"No," replied Eragon. "I was just laying down for a bit. How did you find out where I was sleeping?"

"Well, I assumed you would try to get a room as close to Saphira as possible, so I checked all the rooms on this floor until I found you." Eragon nodded, surprised she would go through such efforts to find him.

"So, what did you and Queen Islanzadi talk about?"

"Well," Eragon replied, "she told me that I may not be able to complete my second stage of training as a Rider because war is expected soon. And when I told her of the Ra'zac she became worried and suspects Ellesmera will be attacked soon.?"

"You told her abuot the Ra'zac attacking?" asked Arya, sounding almost mad.

"Well, yes. She asked me how Murtagh died...Did you not want me to?"

"It's ok, you couldn't have known not to say anything.

"But the thing is, I was considered one of the greatest warriors here in Ellesmera. That's why they chose me to guard Saphira's egg on the trip to Tronjheim. But I failed. The soilders ordered to guard me were killed and I was captured. The egg was lost. Ellesmera had high hopes that one of the elves in our city would be accepted. But before I was kidnapped, I had to send away the egg to protect it, losing all hopes were gone. Not that I'm not happy Saphira chose you," she added, seeing the hurt look on Eragon's face. "And then I was supposed to help you and Murtagh on the trip to Ellesmera, and I failed again...I won't be surprised if Islanzadi doesn't allow me to live here anymore..."

"You life in the castle?"

"Yes," Arya replied. "Because I help the Queen on important journeys and act as a soilder when needed, she provides me with meals and housing."

"Well, I assume you would like to bathe and change clotihng," she said changing the subject. Eragon nodded. Dirt from his travels had covered Eragon and blood stains were on his shirt from his wound. So he followed Arya as she guided him to a bathing room down the hall. "I'll have somebody send you up some fresh clothes." And then she left. Eragon quickly undressed and slipped into the warm bathing pool. He stood for a second and then dove into the water. He found some soap and lathered himself, wiping up every bit of dirt and washed through his hair. He went back under to wash away the soap, and then just sat in the steaming water to relax.

His thoughts soon wandered to Arya. He wondered if she already had a husband. The fact that she might had never occured to him, but he then assumed that she didn't, considering that she traveled, apparently, alone and she lived alone in the palace. He then began to think about how beautiful she was. It was as if every part of her body was perfect. From her dark, mysterious eyes to her long, flowing hair. Even the scar on her cheek made her uniquely beautiful. He longed just be able to stare at her, to kiss her.

His thoughts were soon interupted when Saphira contacted her, and Eragon attempted to get all thoughts of Arya out of his mind so Saphira would not detect them.

_How are you, little one?_

_I'm good. Just finishing up a bath. How's the dragon's chamber?_

_It's cozy. I have a beautiful view of the city. You should see it._

_I'll try to come before I go to bed._

_Good..._

Their conncetion broke and Eragon stood up and got out of the bathing pool, drying himself off with a towel. A fresh linen shirt and trousers waited for him next to the door. He quickly dressed and exited the room. Not knowing what to do now, he wandered through the palace. He admired the paintings hanging on the walls and the great archatecture of the building. After walking around the palace for close to half an hour he ran into Arya.

"Hello. It's about time for dinner in the dining hall, would you wish to join?" she asked him.

"Well, uh, is there anyway that I can eat in the dragon chamber with Saphira?" Eragon asked.

"I will have it arranged," replied Arya with a smile. With that she walked off and Eragon decided to head to the chamber. So he went outside and to the side of the palace.

_Saphira, can you come get me?_

In a flash Saphira soared down from the window of the chamber and landed smoothly next to Eragon. He tried to clamber on as fast as possible, as people stoped and starred as Saphira came down. Once securly on, Saphira took off, and in a few seconds Eragon found himself inside the dragon chambers. The chambers was one huge room taking up most of the fourth floor. A huge window large enough for Saphira to fly through faced the city. You could see every bit of it, all the way out to the golden, glowing gates. Saphira was right, it was a breathtaking view. Inside the chamber was extremely large bedding, big enough for Saphira and Eragon to sleep in. Across from the bedding was a mangled deer.

_They brought you dinner?_

_Yes, and I assume they'll bring yours in a little bit too._ As if on cue, a servent appeared from a trap door that Eragon had not noticed, and he carryied a large tray of food. The wonderful smell of it made Eragon realize how hungrey he was. The servent placed the food on the floor and said to call if he needed anything else, and climed back down the trap door. Eragon and Saphira began to eat their dinner, and finished full and content. Saphira layed down on her bed and Eragon against her stomach, and appriciated the warmth from the fire in her stomach. Together they just sat there looking out the window at the city. Slowly the sun began to set on Ellesmera and finally left them in total darkness.

Not wanting to go back into his bedroom in the palace, Eragon curled up next to Saphira and the two of them fell to sleep.

_Come to me Eragon._ The voice echoed in Eragon's mind as he slept. And then pictures joined into his dream. It reminded Eragon of when Arya guided him to Farthen Dur, only this was a path leading through Du Weldenvarden, and seemed to be much shorter, just a little over a league outside of Ellesmera, and it ended at a small clearing with a pond. _Come to me Eragon. I am The Mourning Sage, The Cripple who is Whole. Come to me._ _ I will come, _Eragon replied. Then Eragon's dream faded away and he woke up in the chambers. He gazed out the window to see that the sun was rising over Ellesmera. Saphira was already awake and watching him with curiosity.

_Are you ok, little on?_

_Yes, _he replied. _I know where to find The Mourning Sage._

**Just got some sudden inspiration so I sat down and wrote! I hope you guys liked this chapter, the next one should be really good... But I won't be able to update for awhile, I'm going on vacation:D Please Review!**


	6. The Mourning Sage

**Surprise, decided to write another chapter before I left for vacation. So R&R!**

After telling Saphira about his dream, she insisted that they searched for it today. So, after eating a piece of bread for breakfast, they left the palace and headed for the city gates. This time when they walked down the streets people starred, but seemed to lose intrest quickly and went back to what they were doing. After a few minutes they arrived at the gates. The same guard was there that was yesterday. With a quick glance he realized it was Eragon, and began to rise the gates.

"Just make sure your back in before the sun goes down," the guard warned.

"Don't worry, I will," replied Eragon. And then Eragon and Saphira went through the gate and it was closed behind them.

_Where do we go from here?_ asked Saphira. Eragon closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember his dream and the path. He finally remembered and headed left into the vast mysterious forest. Saphira obidently followed. With the memory of his dream, Eragon wandered around the forest for a couple hours until he finally found the clearing.

_This is it!_ He told Saphira excitedly. _This is the place from my dream!_ Eragon scanned the clearing; it was exactlly as he had envisioned it. There was a small crystel blue pond in the middle with stones and pebbles surronding it. As Eragon walked closer to the pond, the solid dirt under his feet slowly changed to sand, and suddenly he was standing next to the lake.

_Did The Mourning Sage tell you where he would be?_ Eragon shook his head no. He sat himself on a rock close to the pond and starred out into the pond.

_I guess we should just wait..._So Eragon sat and waited. After almost an hour he was ready to leave. Maybe The Sage wasn't really going to meet him here. Maybe the Sage didn't even exhist...

_Eragon_

_Saphira?_

_No. It is I, The Mourning Sage, Cripple Who is Whole. _Eragon stood up in excitment.

_Where are you?_

_I am not here. I only exsist as a spirit. I am here to guide you._ This frustrated Eragon. How was the Sage going to help him if he wasn't here.

_Look into the pond, _ordered the Sage, _and scry._

_Scry what?_

_Anything, anyone._ Still frustrated, Eragon looked into the pond and tried to think about what to scry. His mind finally settled on Roran. So Eragon concentrated on Roran and only Roran and said, "Draumr kopa (dream stare)." A vision of Roran rippled onto the water, and Eragon gasped at what he saw. His cousin's face was covered in blood and scars. His eyes were swollen and his shirt was covered in blood. Tears rolled down Rorans face and onto what appeared to be a cell floor. Then he saw his cousin look at the door where King Galbatorix stood. The King took him away, leaving his empty cell on the watery image. Eragon broke the connection and the image faded.

"They took Roran," Eragon whispered, on the verge of tears.

_You can save him and so much more,_ replied The Sage.

_How?_

_Find it in your heart._ Then The Sage was gone, leaving Eragon and Saphira alone in the clearing. A few tears fell down Eragon's cheeks and onto the ground.

"We should head back to Ellesmera," said Eragon aloud. Silently he led Saphira back to Ellesmera. The guard opend the gate for them and they walked back to the palace.

When he walked into the palace he was offered supper, it was now late evening, but Eragon reclined, not feeling hungrey. Him and Saphira headed up to the dragon chambers. Saphira layed down on top of the bedding and Eragon sat next to her, stroaking her neck.

_What are you going to do about Roran?_ asked Saphira.

_I don't know. Apparently he's being help prisoner in Uru'Baen, probably in the King's castle, which means I would have to break in..._

_Not nessacialy,_ replied Saphira with a michevious grin.

_ I assume you have a plan?_ Saphira proudly nodded.

ONE WEEK LATER OUTSIDE OF URU'BAEN

After Saphira and Eragon had formulated a plan, they informed Arya who insisted on going too. So the two of them fleed Ellesmera, not telling the Queen about their plan, for they feared she would not let them go, after all, it was a very risky plan. So the two of them flew ther on Saphira's back. Because of her accelerated speed, the travel time was quickly cut down, and it only took them a week to reach the outskirts of Uru'Baen. The city was far enough away that guards wouldn't see the smoke from their fires and Saphira could sleep at the camp without being discovered, but close enough so they could easily walk into town each day if they desired. The plot was perfect, but they only thing they needed to work out before they entered the city was a disguise.

"I think we should attempt to change out hair color," suggested Arya as they sat by the fire.

"How?" asked Eragon. Arya closed her eyes as if concentrating and then spoke.

"Garjzlaun (lighten)!" Arya's hair immediatly turned from raven black to a dirty blonde. Eragon starred amazed, and then did the same to his hair.

"You should probably try to cover up the gedwey ignasia with dirt too, they'll probably take away your gloves..." so Eragon picked up a hand full of dirt and dirtied up his hands, and also rubbed some on his face, trying to hide any distiguishable birthmarks. When he was done he say Arya examining her pointed ears.

"Is there anything you can do about that? People probably won't like the fact that an elf is walking around Uru'Baen."

"Yeah, and I'm sure the guards wouldn't be too welcoming," she joked. "But I can't do anything about them. I'll just have to try and make sure my hair is covering them." She then bent down to the ground and picked up some dirt and began to rub it on her face. She looked at her reflection in the Ramr River. Satisfied she sat back down and got ready for bed. Eragon decided to do the same and layed next to Saphira's warm belly.

The next morning they woke up, packed their things and got ready to leave.

_Remember, you need to stay hidden until I call you, and only then. Do not come until I say so, no matter what. Understand?_ Eragon told Saphira.

_Of corse I understand,_ she replied. _I'm going to be hiding in those valleys by the river. Good luck._ Eragon nodded and watched her fly away, her blue scales sparkling in the gleaming sun. He turned back around to see Arya observing him.

"You need to make your clothes more worn," she said.

"What?"

"You need to get them a little dirtier, maybe put a few cuts in them, it doesn't look like you've been traveling." Eragon understood her reasoning and noticed that she had already begun smearing dirt onto her dress and ripped a hole in the hem. Eragon picked up more dirt and smeared it on his tunic. He made a very noticble rip in his trousers. Arya studied him after he was done and approved. Then they began heading toward the city. After about an hour of walking they reached the city gates. There was guard standing at the gates who starred at them suspiciously as they walked up.

"What's your buisness in Uru'Baen?" he asked.

"I was bringin' my sister in fer treatment. She's very sick ya see," Eragon spoke in his best fake accent and Arya did her best to look as if she was dying. "We've bin' travlin' for awhile and we came here for her to get better."

"Very well," replied the guard as he opend the gate for them, but he still looked suspicious. Eragon guided the hobbling Arya into the city and down the street until they were out of the guard's site, then Arya stood upstrate and Eragon stopped supporting her.

They had made it through phase one their plan. They were inside of Uru'Baen.

**Holy cow! Talk about inspiration. For some reason I just kept writtin and writting and got more ideas. Well I know this chapter's kinda short but oh well. Probably only 2 or 3 chapters left in this story...Review! Oh, by the way, I'm gonna change my pen name pretty soon, probably when I get back, so, just look for me!**


	7. Capture and Escape

**Wow thanks for the reviews! It's great that you like the story. Oh, and sorry for any spelling mistakes, but WordPad doesn't have spellcheck and Microsoft Word isn't working right now. :(**

Arya and Eragon huddled against a wall somewhere inside of Uru'Baen. Pretending to be beggars, Arya shook a cup, asking for money, food or bedding. So far all they had gotten was a few coins and an apple, but it wasn't what they were looking for, because they weren't beggars at all. They just had to lay low until they could hear news, any news, concerning the King, the Empire, or the castle. It was now two days sense they gained entry into Uru'Baen, and Eragon feared if they took much longer, Roran wouldn't survive. Two soilders past the pair and Arya and Eragon strained their ears to hear whatever they could.

"Did he say why he was leaving?" one of the guards asked the other.

"He has to go to Yazuac tonight to make sure the Urgals got rid of everybody in the city and to clean up the city so nobody else complains to the Empire," the other guard replied.

"And he couldn't have anybody else do it?"

"No, he wants to make sure that the task is taken care of personally."

The other guard sighed. "It's too risky if you ask me, the King leaving Uru'Baen. There are spys everywhere..." The guard glared suspiciously at Arya, but she just jangled her tin can and put on a pathetically hungrey look on her face. The guard just threw a coin in the cup with a grunt and stomped off, kicking dirt in their faces. As soon as Eragon was sure they were gone, he looked at Arya, excitment in his eyes.

"This is it, Arya! The King is going to be gone tonight!" whispered Eragon excitedly.

"Your right, it's unbelievable..." said Arya, biting her bottom lip. "But don't you think it could be a trap? Maybe Galbatorix planned this, and he's anticipating us trying to break in..."

"But we're not breaking in...technically," replied Eragon. "Don't worry, I doubt Galbatorix could have figured out our plan."

It was late that night and the clock in the center of town was about to strike mid-night. Eragon waited patiently outside of a market, waiting for the owner to go upstairs and fall asleep. About a half hour later, the shopkeeper had finally went upstiars and his lights went out.

Eragon skillfully opend the lock on the door with magic and entered the shop. He walked around the shop as noisily as possible, knocking over some shelves and stomping on the ground. Eragon was sure the shopkeeper was deaf, until he finally sneaked downstairs with a knife and held it to Eragon's neck.

"Don't move!" cried the shopkeeper. "Now empty your pockets of anything you've stolen from me..." Eragon pulled out a few apples and a loaf of bread and handed them to the shopkeeper. "Ok, now, I'm going to call the guards. You'll be thrown into prison, just where you belong, you dirty bum," he snarled.

Eragon suppressed a grin and thought to himself _Yup, just where I belong..._

Just as the shopkeeper had said, guards from the castle had arrived and dragged Eragon to the dungeons below the castle. The chucked him inside a cell and locked it up and walked away. Around him most of the prisoners were already asleep, snoring on the edge of their cots. Eragon scanned the dungeon, but Roran was no where in sight.

_He must be in another dungeon_, thought Eragon.

He waited for a few hours until he was sure that everybody in the castle was asleep, excluding the couple guards that were patroling the dungeons. When the pair of guards weren't looking, Eragon summoned the keys with magic, and they floated over to him. He quietly slipped them in the lock and it cracked open. He slid out of his cell and entered the hallway.

"Hey! You!" cried one of the guards as he spotted him. They sprinted towards him, swords at hand.

"Jierda theirra kalfis! (break their calves)" exclaimed Eragon, and the soliders fell to the ground, crying in pain. Eragon rushed towards them, grabbed one of their swords and stabbed them both, and they fell to the ground, lifeless.

By now many of the prisoners had woken up and were gasping at Eragon. Some were jangling on the bars, begging to be released. Eragon sprinted past them until he reached a long, spiriling staircase.

He went down the steps two at a time until he reached a dungeon at the very bottom of the castle. He ran down the hallway, passing empty cells until he was infront of one occupied.

Inside was a young man, lying on the ground with scars and cuts all up and down his body. Dried blood caked his face and continued to drip down and onto his already filthy shirt. He appeared to be dead except for his constant shivering. Ther person in the cell, of corse, was Roran.

"Oh my god," whispered Eragon. Roran turned his head a little bit to see the front of his cell door.

_Is it possible? _Roran thought. _Or am I going mental due to the pain?_ Roran watched Eragon unlock his door and assist him up. Eragon carried him on his back up the stiars. Roran was unusally thin due to lack of food, and Eragon easily carried him up the stairs.

They ran up sevrel flights of stairs and up countless floors until they reached the roof of the castle.

_Saphira! Come now!_ exclaimed Eragon. He waited for a few minutes, praying they hadn't been spotted when he saw Saphira flying through the sky. As she approached she lowered and landed on the roof. On top of her sat Arya, her, now blonde, hair flowing in the wind. As soon as they landed Arya lept off of her and ran to Eragon.

"Is he alive?" she said worried.

"He is for now, but he needs serious help..."

"Ok," she replied. "I'll go get the egg, you keep watch and tend to Roran." Arya then opend the door to the castle and sprinted down the stairs and out of sight. Eragon then laid Roran down to look at his wounds.

_He needs food, _said Eragon to Saphira.

_I think there's some bread in the bags,_ she replied. Eragon searched through the bags until he found a loaf of bread. He split it in half and ate the first half. He would need energy if he was going to heal all of Roran's wounds.

After he was done eating, he force fed Roran the other half of bread and some water, as Roran had no energy to feed himself. Once he was done, Eragon took off his shirt and gasped as he saw Roran's whole chest oozing with blood and knotted scabs covered his body where he was whipped.

Eragon closed his eyes and found the magic bump in his brain.

He repeated "Waise heill" (Be Healed!) countless times until the majority of the cuts were healed. Exhausted, he leaned back against Saphira and drank a swig of water.

_I wonder what's taking Arya so long,_ Eragon asked Saphira.

_Maybe you should go find her,_ Saphira suggested.

_No, she told me to stay here and keep watch._ Just as Eragon said this, Arya bursted from the door and stumbled onto the rooftop.

"I've got the egg!" exclaimed Arya. Sure enough, in her hand sat a glowing red stone. "But the guards heard me. They're coming up. We have to go!" Eragon quickly picked up Roran and assisted him onto Saphira's back and strapped him in. After that, Eragon and Arya climbed on and Saphira began to fly up.

"Over there! They're getting away!" cried one of the guards as the bursted from inside the castle. The soilders took out their bows and arrows and began to fire.

Saphira roared in pain as arrows ripped her wings. She quickly changed her path and headed back toward the castle.

_Saphira! What are you doing!_ asked Eragon, panicked. Saphira did not answer, instead she let out a loud roar and the castle was enveloped in fire. Eragon starred, stunned. Before sprinting down the stairs, the soilders managed to shoot a few more arrows at them.

Eragon heard a cry behind him as looked to see an arrow hanging out of Arya's side. She gasped as she pulled the arrow out of her and blood flowed freely.

"Are you going to be ok?" asked Eragon. Arya slowly nodded, and then lost conciousness. Not being strapped in like Roran, she slid off of Saphira's side and down into the streets of Uru'Baen, a fall that would surely kill her.

"Arya!" cried Eragon. Saphira dove into a breakneck dive and was soon level with the faint Arya. Eragon streatched out to her and managed to pull her back on before hitting the ground. Saphira then guided them upward back into the sky, flying away from Uru'Baen.

_Fly as far away from Uru'Baen as possible, but we've got to stop fairly soon. Arya needs to have that healed, _Eragon ordered. He also felt a bit faint and was on the verge of falling asleep, but made himself stay awake as Saphira flew as fast as possible away from Uru'Baen.

After a few hours, Saphira landed in a clearing close to the Ramr River. She landed smoothly and waited as Eragon took Roran and Arya off of her back, and then fell to the ground, exhausted from the weight and pain of the arrows.

Eragon looked around him. Roran was seriously wounded and needed food and attention for the rest of his wounds. Arya was still bleeding from the punture in her side and breath came out in sharp gasps for her, and she might not survive. Saphira moaned as she layed next to Eragon, arrows still sticking out from her wings. He himself was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but needed to help everyone. Would he be able to do it, or would he have to suffer through another death of a loved one?

**I know, a bad place to end a story, but I'm pretty tired myself, and seeing as I dont' have to help anybody, I'm gonna go to bed. Haha. Please Review!**


	8. The End

**Thanks for all the reviews! They were great. Well as you may have guessed, this is the last chapter...hope you guys like it!**

Aya pulled herself up, holding her head and looked at her surrondings. She was in a large clearing, a large flowing river on her right side, and a lump of blankets on her left. She tried to remember what had happend. Something about a castle and Eragon...Suddenly everything came flashing back to her, but the last thing she could remember was an arrow piercing her side and then she blacked out. She slowly lifted her shirt to reveal her stomach. On her side was a small, faint scar where her wound had been healed. She then stood up and headed for the lump of blankets.

Once there she pulled away the top one to reveal a young man apparently sleeping. Arya assumed this was Eragon's cousin Roran and she uncovered the rest of his body to see if Eragon had healed the wounds. As she examined him, she found most of his wounds healed, but he was still tossing fitfully in his sleep. Arya guessed that he was also wounded on the inside.

Then Eragon walked back to the clearing carrying a bucket of water. "Oh good, your awake. I was getting worried about you," he said as he approached Arya.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About a day now," he replied. Arya was shocked. It usually didn't take her so long to recover.

"Where'd Saphira go?"

"I asked her to hunt. We're running out of food, so she's getting meat." He then offered Arya some water who took it thankfully. She hadn't realized it, but she was extremely thirsty and hungrey. Once done drinking the water she leaned over Roran again. "I did all I could for him," Eragon said. "but he won't wake up." Arya continued to examine Roran and finally realized what was wrong.

"Calcine," Arya whispered.

"What?"

"Calcine," Arya replied. "It's a kind of poisen that they use for torture. It works slow, it takes about a month before the person will actually die. It burns you on the inside. Burns you until there's nothing left." Eragon's jaw dropped in horror, but Arya kept going. "From what I can tell he still has about two weeks until the poisen will kill him, but I'm not sure. There should be a cure at Ellesmera for him. We'll have to go there as fast as possible."

"Are you sure they'll want us there? We left without permission and burned down the Castle," replied Eragon worried.

Arya then said, "It doesn't matter. They'll let us back. They have to. We have the egg. They want it more then anything.

"Besides, I'm sure they stopped the castle from burning down. They'll be just fine." For awhile they just sat in silence. Eventually Saphira came back carrying a dead deer which Arya quickly roasted. Eragon and Arya quickly ate the hot meat and afterwards forcefed Roran some.

They decided it would be safer for them to travel at night, for they were both sure that the other cities were warned and soilders were looking for them. So in the meantime the three just sat together, looking at the horizon.

"What happend when you were trying to get the egg?" asked Eragon.

"Well," Arya said, starting her story. "I went down to where the egg was being guarded and attacked the soilders guarding the entrance. When I got inside the entire room was a huge maze and in the middle were the eggs. The maze was full of boobytraps and stuff like that.

"He apparently felt his maze was complecated, but it was actually pretty easy for me and I was in the center within a couple minutes. The two eggs were sitting on a stand in the middle. One was ruby red and the other emerald green. Once I grabbed the red one an alarm went off and more soilders went in. I didn't have anytime to grab the green one, plus a shield automatically went up over it.

"There were too many guards to fight off, so instead of trying to fight them, I ran. Because I was so much faster then them, I managed to make it to the roof before they did. That's how we escaped."

"Wow," said Eragon. It had to be a close escape.

"So what happend after I passed out?" asked Arya.

"Well, you fell off of Saphira, and we caught you, but just barely. Then Saphira's wings were ripped, but we had to fly as far away as possible so we flew for about an hour and then stopped. You and Roran were both unconcious and Saphira was exhausted and collaapsed.

"I had to rest, but before I did I healed your cut. Unfortunatly it still left a scar. Sorry about that."

"It's ok."

"Well then I had to sleep because I had no energy left. When I woke up a few hours later I ate some bread and then removed the arrows from Saphira's wings and healed the cuts. Fortunatly they weren't that bad and she was able to fly immediatly, so I sent her out to get meat. After she left I split what little bread was left and fed half of it to Roran and the other half to you.

"Once I realized we were out of water I went to refill our waterskins. I got back, you were awake, and here we are." Arya sat in silence for a few minutes until Eragon announced that they should leave now.

Arya loaded Roran, who was still unconcious, onto Saphira's back and Eragon packed up the rest of their supplies and strapped it on. Then Eragon climbed on, and Arya sat behind him, holding on as Saphira took off. As they flew through the air, Arya thought about Eragon and how he had cared for her. He had always cared for her.

He had rescued her from death in the prison, and then again when he made sure she made it to the Varden in time for the cure. And then he had healed her when she was hit by the arrow. He had even fed her!

As they flew through the air Arya loved the feel of Eragon's toned musceles beneath his shirt as she held on.

_No!_ she thought to herself. _I can't fall for him. He's a Rider! And I'm an elf. It'd never work..._ She quickly pulled herself away from him and sat up balancing herself.

It was three days later and they were now deep inside the forest, very close to Ellesmera. Roran still hadn't woken up, and the poisen was taking it's toll. He was now drooling and foaming at the mouth and twitched in his sleep. Eragon knew if they didn't get him a cure soon, he would die.

"I think we could make it to Ellesmera this morning if we wanted it," said Arya.

"Good," Eragon replied, releaved. "We'll rest now so we can go in the morning..."

When they did wake up in the morning they immediatly left, and two hours later they were once again infront of Ellesmera's gates. The same guard as always peered down at them and his jaw dropped.

"Arya? Is that you!" he exclaimed. He rolled up the gate and Saphira, Eragon and Arya walked it. "Everybody thought you were kidnapped. Or dead. The Queen will be so relieved." Arya looked at Eragon who gave her the same panicked look. Both knew that the Queen would be furious when she found out that they had not been kidnapped and were very much alive.

They dreadfully walked up to the castle and enterd, everybody giving them shocked, surprised looks on their way there. Once they got inside the castle the guards let them into the Queens office as they waited. Soon enough Queen Islanzadi stomemped into the door looking furious.

"Well," she said as she sat down. "How nice of you to rejoin us. Any particular reason for you to leave without telling me? Or any of the soilders for that matter?" Without letting them answer she continued. "We thought you were gone, dead forever." She was now directing herself towards Eragon. "You were our one chance of survival if the King attacked and you came up missing. You are a Rider! You should know better." She was now scolding Arya.

"And you! I thought I could trust you. You had always been loyal to me. But now I'm not sure if I can even let you stay in the castle."

"Without the castle I have no where to stay," said Arya quietly. Eragon couldn't let this go on.

"It's not her fault! Please don't kick her out of the castle. I persuaded her to come with me..."

"And where exactlly did you go?" asked the Queen. Then Eragon told her the story and ten minutes later the Queen sat quietly in her chair. "Do you have the egg?" she asked finally. Arya silently pulled it out of her pocket and showed it to her. Islanzadi gasped as she saw the gleaming stone and gently took it out of Arya's hand and examined it.

"Fine," she finally replied. "Your departure was for a good cause, but I am still upset and you are both on probation." She handed Arya the egg. "Now both of you go to your rooms, I will have lunch brought up for you in a little bit."

"But, what should we do about the egg?" asked Arya before the exited the room.

"I think," replied the Queen, "you can decide that yourself." Arya shrugged and headed out into the hall. She closed the door behind her and faced Eragon and Saphira who were standing infront of her. They akwardly stood there just looking at each other until Eragon broke the silence.

"Whar _are_ you going to do with the egg?" Arya smiled slyly and whispered a few magic words and the stone dissapeared. "What'd you do with it?"

"I sent it away. Just like I did with Saphira's egg."

"Where to?"

"No where in particular," she replied. "I think we should just leave it up to fate. And hope if falls into the hands of a true Rider. Just like it did the first time "

**I know, a bad chapter but I did the best I could...I hope you all liked it! Please review! Oh, and there will be a sequel, but probably not for a little while cuz I wanna finish some of my other stories first. THE END!**


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